Along with the fiddle, the banjo is a mainstay of American styles of music, such as bluegrass and old-time music. Historically, the banjo occupied a central place in Black American traditional music and rural folk culture before entering the mainstream via the minstrel shows of the 19th century. Among rock bands, the Eagles, Led Zeppelin, and the Grateful Dead have used the five-string banjo in some of their songs. By the early 21st century, the banjo was most frequently associated with folk, bluegrass and country music, but was also used in some rock, pop and even hip-hop music. The inexpensive or home-made banjo remained part of rural folk culture, but 5-string and 4-string banjos also became popular for home parlour music entertainment, college music clubs, and early 20th century jazz bands. In the 19th century, interest in the instrument was spread across the United States and United Kingdom by traveling shows of the 19th century minstrel show fad, followed by mass-production and mail-order sales, including instruction method books. Early forms of the instrument were fashioned by African Americans and had African antecedents. The membrane is typically circular, in modern forms usually made of plastic, originally of animal skin. The banjo is a stringed instrument with a thin membrane stretched over a frame or cavity to form a resonator. Problems playing this file? See media help.